Biography of Ho Chi Minh, President of North Vietnam

Didn't exactly mourn him.

Sad story.

SGT (Join to see)
..."Vietnam War
At this time, the United States subscribed to "domino theory," the idea that the fall of one country in a region to communism would cause the neighboring states to topple like dominoes as well. In order to prevent Vietnam from following in the steps of China, the United States decided to support Ngo Dinh Diem's cancellation of the 1956 nationwide elections, which would very likely have unified Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh.

Ho Chi Minh responded by activating the Viet Minh cadres in South Vietnam, who began to wage small-scale attacks on the Southern government. Gradually, U.S. involvement increased, until the country and other U.N. members were involved in all-out combat against Ho Chi Minh's soldiers. In 1959, Ho Chi Minh appointed Le Duan the political leader of North Vietnam, while he focused on rallying support from the Politburo and other communist powers. Ho Chi Minh remained the power behind the president, however.

Although Ho Chi Minh had promised the people of Vietnam a quick victory over the Southern government and its foreign allies, the Second Indochina War, also known as the Vietnam War, dragged on. In 1968, he approved the Tet Offensive, which was meant to break the stalemate. Although it proved a military fiasco for the North and the allied Viet Cong, it was a propaganda coup for Ho Chi Minh and the communists. With U.S. public opinion turning against the war, Ho Chi Minh realized that he only had to hold out until the Americans got tired of fighting and withdrew."...